June 28, 2016

Flying the Flags

I might be slightly biased, but I think that Maryland has the best flag of all of the 50 states. It is the only one of the state flags to be based on English heraldry. The design comes from the Calvert and Crossland families who settled Maryland in the early 1600’s. It is only one of four state flags not to include the colour blue. The black and gold represent the Calvert family and the red and white, the Crosslands.

We love our flag and use it everywhere including the UnderArmour-designed lacrosse and football uniforms for the University of Maryland’s teams. However, I think that many of the pieces are completely hideous. But there are some not-so-hideous renditions of the flag, although its use in clothing is still dubious, fashion-wise.

It’s not unusual to see cars sporting Maryland flag stickers in the shape of crabs,

labs,

horses,

and everything between.

A month or so ago, I needed to whip up some decorations for a friend whose step-brother was graduating from school here in Maryland. I played around with making some paper banners which worked out really well. I printed them out on 11x17 paper, cut them out, folded them in half, ran a jute string between them and applied a dab of glue to keep them from sliding.

I decided to play around with the flag on fabric and designed some pennants at Spoonflower. I started out with the second iteration of the paper design, and had it printed. But once I had gotten the sample, I made a few changes.

I changed the size of the flags to 11x14 inches and got rid of the white space. I designed the fabric with very light cut lines, so people can make their own flags. And then I made the fabric available for sale, here. Each yard makes about 16 flags. You can play with the layout of the flags, too.

They make a great host/hostess gift if you’re visiting friends for dinner at home or at their farm.

I’ve been making cheerful pennants for years, and often have them on my Etsy site, including some I just made with a great Lilly Pulitzer print. And of course, the dozens of pennants I made for the Cirque Balle event about two months ago which have already been borrowed by friends! Since I have access to great fabrics from some of the top houses, including Schumacher, Victoria Hagen, Colefax & Fowler, Designers Guild and others, the pennants I make are pretty extravagant!

Although we don’t use pennants as much as in the UK, I’ve been noticing them in stores more and more, and even saw some burlap pennants at World Market. So cheap and cheezy… and Chinese-made.

As colorful and attractive the Maryland flag is, and how tempting it is to use the pattern in such "clever" ways, one must first pause and perhaps consider the flag, state or national is a symbol which deserves respect. And upon such reflection is it dignified to use the actual pattern in such an undignified manner i.e. a pair of pants? When I saw on the internet, the US flag serving as a saddle blanket in a Fourth of July parade it made me think twice about the questionable practice of using the flag in a manner less then honorable. There is a US Flag code and perhaps the state of Maryland has a Flag code?

About Me

Pigtown Design is the musings of Meg Fairfax Fielding, a Baltimore-based writer, photographer and fund-raiser, who explores design, architecture, culture, and current events in Baltimore and around the world.